A collection of podcasts exploring the culture in pop culture. Our shows range from the general (flagship show The Chronic Rift) to the specific (The Batcave Podcast). We look at literature (Dead Kitchen Radio), movies (The Weekly Podioplex), family (Generations Geek), gaming (The Cardboard Jungle), and more.

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Syndication

Episode 58—Geek Actors Live on Stage

Science fiction writer and editor Scott Pearson’s cohost Ella Pearson puts the “geek” in “theatre geek,” sharing stories of living in London and seeing various plays live on stage which featured actors we all know and love from genre movies and TV.

Segments

02:56 English Actors vs. American Actors

04:04 Scott’s Adventures at the Theatre, Pt. 1

06:56 Martin Freeman in The Dumb Waiter

10:21 Scott’s Adventures at the Theatre, Pt. 2

10:56 Danny Dyer in The Dumb Waiter

12:54 Rupert Graves in Victoria Station

13:51 Celebrity Distractions

15:59 Scott’s Adventures at the Theatre, Pt. 3

17:20 Charlie Cox, Zawe Ashton, and Tom Hiddleston in Betrayal

23:09 Go to the Theatre

23:34 Tom Hiddleston and Shakespeare

24:56 Ella IS Frau Schmidt

25:56 Arthur Darvill in Sweet Charity (plus Hiddleston in Coriolanus)

31:40 Scott’s Adventures at the Theatre, Pt. 4

33:42 Missed Plays

34:50 Halley Atwell in Rosmersholm

37:42 At the Stage Door

39:58 Favorite Performances

Direct download: GenGeek58.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 11:47am EDT
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Episode 57—The Immersive War of the Worlds

Science fiction writer and editor Scott Pearson’s cohost Ella Pearson recounts surviving a Martian invasion with a walkthrough of her visit to Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of the War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience. Sets, actors, and VR headsets put her into the middle of a nineteenth-century London swarming with Martian tripods! Warning: spoilers for people lucky enough to be able to attend the Immersive Experience themselves.

 

Segments

00:27 Intro

01:04 A Musical War of the Worlds?!

03:15 An Immersive Overview

15:25 The Invasion Begins

17:35 Looking for Carrie

19:45 Evacuating London

21:00 Captured by Martians

26:00 Going Underground

29:00 Into the Air

30:15 The End of the Martians

31:10 Surviving the Invasion

32:13 Down the Pub

33:18 Final Thoughts

Direct download: GenGeek57.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 7:51am EDT
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 Episode 56—All Aboard the Hogwarts Express

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson’s cohost Ella Pearson recounts her many Harry Potter-themed adventures while living in England: visiting places where J. K. Rowling worked on the books, spotting filming locations from the movies, making two trips to the Harry Potter Set Tour, and seeing the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

 

Segments

00:28 Intro

01:20 Rowling in Edinburgh

05:31 Digression: Doctor Who in Glasgow

06:21 Platform 9 3/4

08:40 Harry Potter Studio Tour

18:18 Interlude: A Wee Bit More o’ Scotland

18:58 Back in the Studio

35:15 Potter Nostalgia

37:25 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Direct download: GenGeek56.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 8:12am EDT
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Episode 55—Rim of the World

 

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson and cohost Ella Pearson interview Zack Stentz, screenwriter and producer of the Netflix film Rim of the World, which follows the adventures of four teenagers caught in the middle of an alien invasion while at summer camp. After the interview, Ella and Scott review the film.

 

Segments

Intro :28

The Interview

The Synopsis 1:30

Eighties Nostalgia and Inspirations 2:43

A Contemporary Teen Adventure 4:10

Rim of the World Highway 4:43

Kids of Diversity 5:30

Greenlit on the Fast Track 7:17

Multitasking Movies and TV 8:04

Writer on the Set 8:58

Stories from Location 10:02

Working with McG 11:10

Big Trouble in Little China 13:54

Booster Gold 14:35

Lore 16:35

Thor 17:32

The Sarah Connor Chronicles 20:40

Terminator and Picard Trailers 21:33

Trek Fans Since Walking 22:18

X-Files Worries 23:00

Old-School TV vs. Streaming 23:45

The Twilight Zone 26:20

Tin Tin 27:14

Netflix, Streaming, and the Future 28:13

The Review

Here There Be Spoilers 32:56

Ella Wants More 33:56

ZhenZhen and 13-Year-Old Ella 34:54

A Contemporary Teen Adventure Redux 35:46

The Young Actors 37:40

The Classic Summer Camp 38:09

The Classic Alien Invasion 39:45

The Classic Three-Stooges Slap 40:40

Easter Eggs and Callbacks 41:07

Action and Character Moments 45:32

The Mystery of ZhenZhen 46:20

Back to the Invasion 48:00

The Kids and the Grown-Ups 49:08

The Man in the Jail 49:34

Seventy Miles to Go 51:15

The Joy of Bicycling 51:58

Ella Wants the Theatrical Release 53:26

Final Comments 54:25

Direct download: GenGeek_55.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 6:33am EDT
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Episode 54—Hidden in the Shadows

 

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson and cohost Ella Pearson interview Jaine Fenn, winner of the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Short Fiction in 2016. Jaine tells us about her geek origins, how she got into writing, and her stories and books, including her new novel Broken Shadow, the second of her two-part Shadowlands series.

 

 

Segments

Intro :28

Life in Devonshire 1:29

Getting Geeky on the Telly 2:14

Finding Tie-In Fiction 4:10

A Storyteller’s Beginnings 7:25

Discovering Le Guin 8:35

The Linguistic Astronomer 10:20

Sidebar: Tolkien’s Granddaughter 10:44

Geeks at University 11:31

Linguistics in Writing 11:59

Astronomy and Maths 13:08

Generations Geek and Tolkien 14:26

Genre Writing as a Career 15:18

Role-Playing Games 17:43

Learning and Teaching Writing 19:00

Short Stories 19:39

Beginning Novels 21:29

The Hidden Empire Series 22:37

The Shadowlands Duology 25:19

Worldbuilding the Shadowlands 29:14

Language in the Shadowlands 33:48

Patriarchy and Class in Hidden Sun 38:57

The Ending of Hidden Sun 41:16

Sidebar: Living in the Past 42:00

Broken Shadow 48:45

Making the Reader Work 49:36

Playing Text Games 50:59

Writers and Synchronicity 51:56

What’s Next…Can’t Say 53:05

Star Trek: Discovery 53:57

Current Reading and Viewing:

The Corporation Wars 56:55

The Kingdoms of Elfin 57:27

The Good Place 58:40

The Expanse 59:55

Language in the Expanse and Sci-Fi 1:02:20

Star Trek, Canon, and Other Sci-Fi Shows 1:04:13

Direct download: GenGeek_Ep._54.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 8:31pm EDT
Comments[0]

Episode 53—Return to Ragnarok

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson and cohost Ella Pearson rescue a lost episode! First begun in the wee hours after the premiere of Thor: Ragnarok, after catching up on sleep they somehow never got back to wrapping up the recording. Now they finally return to Ragnarok to add final thoughts after having watched it many times.

 

Segments

Intro :28

First Thoughts 1:13

Cameos in the Play 11:57

Let’s Talk About Loki 12:45

Just Goldblum It 14:43

Digression: Kiwi vs. Aussie Accent 15:05

Let’s Talk About Valkyrie 15:45

Digression: Eye Lines, Film Class, and Holtzmann 17:53

Back to the Valkyrie and Fan Fiction 20:02

Taika and Indigenous Peoples 24:27

Maori Humor 26:43

The Hulk 29:04

Trailers versus Spoilers 29:37

Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye 33:27

Hela, aka Bad Galadriel 35:44

Gods and Mythology 36:42

Sibling Tropes 37:36

Suppressed History 38:44

The Warriors Three and Sif 39:40

Where Are the Women of the MCU 41:32

Comic Book Costumes 44:46

The Elevator Scene 47:37

Last Battle and Redemptions 48:50

Favorite Characters in the MCU 49:58

Favorite Bits 51:19

Loki and Thor and Odin 53:19

Loki and Doctor Strange 57:29

Chris and Taika 60:32

Banner Still Banner 62:07

What Happens Next in the MCU 62:44

Digression: Ella Dunks on Comic Books 68:32

Back to the Infinity Stones 70:21

Epilogue: Return to Ragnarok 71:05

Direct download: GG_Episode_53.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 7:37pm EDT
Comments[0]

Episode 52—Into the Trek Zone

 

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson welcomes back fellow sci-fi scribe William Leisner for the second part of his interview to chat about his books, including his original works, Star Trek stories and novels, upcoming projects, and other geeky things. Plus, Ella checks in with an update from across the pond in London, including her visit to Sherwood Forest!

 

 

Segments

Intro :28

Geek Roots: Star Trek 1:10

Other Sci-Fi 3:25

Birth of a Comic Strip Writer 4:51

Birth of a TV Writer 6:04

Trying to Break into Hollywood from New York 8:25

Pitching Star Trek Spec Scripts 9:17

Fan Fiction and Strange New Worlds 14:15

Called Up to the Show 18:05

Corps of Engineers: Out of the Cocoon 18:50

Slings and Arrows: The Insolence of Office 21:05

Myriad Universes: A Less Perfect Union 23:40

Losing the Peace 24:50

Shocks of Adversity 25:55

Favorites and Dream Trek Projects 26:40

Original Projects: A Dimension of Death 30:28

Self-Publishing 33:54

The ReDeus Series from Crazy 8 Press 34:54

A Return to the Ur-Bar 39:03

Period Pieces 41:30

So, You’re a Writer! 42:30

Current Projects 45:10

Contracts, Deadlines, and the Writing Game 47:10

Closing Comments 50:46

Ella Skypes in from London:

Hitchcock Films 52:00

Sherwood Forest 56:32

The Nottingham Caves 1:03:12

Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Pub 1:05:45

Notting Hill 1:07:45

Elizabeth 1:12:05

Star Trek: Discovery Season Premiere 1:13:38

Discoverage and Short Treks 1:16:40

Generations Geek in London 1:18:02

Direct download: GG_Episode_52.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 3:21pm EDT
Comments[0]

 Episode 51—An American Geek in London

 

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson welcomes his cohost Ella back for an entire show as she Skypes in from London with super geeky Middle-earth and Star Trek adventures, including an interview with Mo, aka @soundofcosplay, an Austrian Trek fan whose Paul Stamets cosplay has taken Twitter by storm, attracting the admiration of the cast of Star Trek: Discovery, especially Anthony “Stamets” Rapp! Epic double-length episode!

 

Segments

Intro :28

Tolkien Art Exhibit 1:05

Art! Doodles! Name Changing! 2:35

Good Guys and Bad Guys 3:20

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth 4:09

Paper Scavenging 5:35

Spanish versus Elvish 7:16

So Much Good Stuff 7:56

The Hobbit Dustjacket 10:42

What’s a Hobbit? 11:35

Harry Potter Locations 12:05

Destination Star Trek Birmingham 13:20

The Oversleepening 14:53

The Press Conference 17:30

The Young American 20:30

Interviewing Garak and Rom 21:32

Opening Ceremonies: The Shat 25:30

Anthony, Wilson, and Ken, Oh My 27:50

Minnesota Baby 31:04

Lobbying with the Actors 31:49

The Siddig High-Five Incident 33:50

Trekkin’ with Eighties Music 35:03

Bertha the Caravan 35:39

The Last-Minute Con 36:20

Saturday is Panel Day 37:10

James Swallow 39:05

Con Food 41:15

Red Carpet Premiere 44:50

What We Left Behind 46:30

On Being a Young Fan 47:10

Terry Farrell Leaves DS9 50:43

Ira Steven Behr 51:05

Season 8 Episode 1 51:44

Watch the End Credits 52:30

Direct download: GenGeek51.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 8:36am EDT
Comments[0]

 

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson welcomes fellow sci-fi writer and Twin Cities resident William Leisner to the show to review the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man and see how it stacks up against The Right Stuff and Apollo 13. Plus, Ella Skypes in from London to talk about the season premiere of Doctor Who.

 

 

Segments

Intro :28

First Thoughts on First Man 1:08

The Introverted Astronaut 2:05

The Pain He Carried 3:55

But He’s Neil Freaking Armstrong 7:00

The Right Stuff: Some Thoughts 9:15

What’s with Chuck Yeager? 14:25

The Wrong Attempts at Humor 17:15

The Right Iconic Scenes 19:15

Space Program Movie Overlaps 20:35

Apollo 1 in the Movies 22:10

Apollo 13: Some Thoughts 25:44 

Classic Space Hardware 28:00

First Man: No Rah-Rah 30:10

Flag on the Moon 34:00

Bracelet on the Moon? 35:50

A Quiet Return to Earth 42:42

Grading the Movies 45:20

Doctor Who Premiere with Ella 56:50

Direct download: GenGeek50_copy.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 10:01am EDT
Comments[0]

Episode 49—Old World, New Vampires

 

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson continues his chat with urban fantasy author Melissa F. Olson, discussing her various novel series in part two of a two-part interview. Then his daughter Ella pops in to chat about her summer con adventures.

 

Segments

Intro :28

Geek Beginnings 1:22

Discovering Urban Fantasy 2:25

Novel Beginnings 5:50

Scarlett Bernard’s First Trilogy 6:39

Allison “Lex” Luther’s Trilogy 9:20

Scarlett and Lex and the Old World Series 11:00

Nightshades: The TV Pilot? 12:15

Vampires: Supernatural vs. Scientific 14:05

Nightshades: The Novella 18:28

The World of the Nightshades Trilogy 20:35

The Unusual Birth of Nightshades 27:45

Bram Stoker’s Dracula 33:33

Ella at CONvergence with Melinda Snodgrass 39:44

Shout Out to “Enterprising Individuals” 43:50

Sitting in the Back at Panels 44:35

Ella at Minnesota Fan Fusion 45:15

Being on Panels 46:28

John Rhys-Davies 49:08

Shout Out to “Keep on Tolkien” 51:15

Bon Voyage to Ella 53:48

Direct download: GG_Ep._49.mp3
Category:Generations Geek -- posted at: 7:41pm EDT
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